MetaCarta introduces NewsMap service through Reuters.com

Cambridge, USA, December 10, 2007: MetaCarta Inc., provider of geographic search and referencing solutions, announced MetaCarta NewsMap service, a new hosted service that allows online media outlets to display maps that show the places mentioned in their news stories. Users and businesses, such as financial institutions, media organization and corporate entities, can now quickly visualize breaking news, based on where it is happening, and anticipate how news events will impact financial and business markets. MetaCarta NewsMap draws users back to the publisher’s site for repeat visits, substantially increasing user frequency and page views metrics, enabling publishers to better capture advertising dollars and maximize advertising rates.

Reuters is the first media company to use MetaCarta’s NewsMap service, deploying it on Reuters.com. When a visitor to Reuters.com views a U.S. news story, the NewsMap appears next to the story.

“For users, a NewsMap is an interesting way to see where the news is happening and to visually drill down to the places in which they are interested. For publishers, a NewsMap provides a great way to highlight content in a visually interesting and interactive manner, and provides another vehicle to repurpose valuable content assets,” said Rick Hutton, Vice President of Content Services at MetaCarta.

Features of MetaCarta NewsMap service include:

For consumers:

Information Visualization: At a glance, users can see where the news is happening.

Interactive Interface: Users can easily pan or zoom the map to locate areas of interest and identify associated stories.